twist someone's arm

verb

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: To apply torsion along the length of the arm of (a person).

“They had to twist his arm, but they got him to join the project.”

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Meanings

verbtwist someone's arm (third-person singular simple present twists someone's arm, present participle twisting someone's arm, simple past and past participle twisted someone's arm)

present singular third person twists someone's arm · participle present twisting someone's arm · participle past twisted someone's arm · past twisted someone's arm

  1. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: To apply torsion along the length of the arm of (a person).

    I twist his arm, a snap signaling when it breaks. His screams reverberate in the tiny apartment.

    2013, Justina Ireland, Vengeance Bound, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 295
  2. figurativelyTo coerce, force, or cajole.

    They had to twist his arm, but they got him to join the project.

    1 more example

    Either to sully his reputation or to twist his arm into further cooperation, the authorities slapped a second, unrelated charge onto his sheet: He was accused of defrauding his clients' trust funds of a few hundred dollars.

    2009, Mark Gevisser, A Legacy of Liberation, St. Martin's Press, →ISBN, page 152

Translations

Finnish painostaa, pakottaa
  • painostaato coerce
  • pakottaato coerce
French forcer la main
  • forcer la mainto coerce
Cite this entry
APA

twist someone's arm. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/twist%20someone's%20arm

MLA

“twist someone's arm.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/twist%20someone's%20arm. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “twist someone's arm,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/twist%20someone's%20arm.

Source: twist someone's arm on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.